Bristol Township, PA Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)

Chapter 142 of the Bristol Township Code, adopted by Township Council on 12-20-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-06, regulates pawnbrokers, precious metals dealers, antique dealers and secondhand dealers, all grouped under the term dealer. Section 142-5 sets the licensing steps. A license from the Bristol Township Licenses and Inspections Department is required for each location, and an annual registration license fee is due for each location the applicant intends to operate, with the amount set by resolution of Council. A pawnbroker license is issued only to an applicant who has been licensed first by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania under the Act of April 6, 1937, P.L. 200, 63 P.S. § 281.

The chapter defines a pawnbroker as a business entity, including an itinerant merchant, doing business in Bristol Township that lends money in exchange for personal property deposited by a pledger as security, or that purchases and resells merchandise from a pledger or seller. Licensed dealers must keep records of every transaction in English, including date, time and location, make, model, serial number, a detailed description, color, special markings, the currency amount paid, and a photocopy of the pledger's or seller's government identification (§ 142-6). Records are retained at the business for two years. Each dealer must also upload transaction data daily to the electronic tracking system the Township designates (§ 142-10), hold items unaltered for 10 working days (§ 142-11), and refrain from any transaction with a minor under 18 (§ 142-12).

Scales used to weigh precious metals must be approved for commercial use in Pennsylvania and inspected and sealed by the Pennsylvania weights and measures authority (§ 142-7). Under § 142-9 a dealer can seize an item believed stolen, must issue a seizure receipt, and must immediately deliver it to the Bristol Township Police Department.